The seven-year-old agency suffered its first-ever defeat in a case brought to arbitration Friday when a three-person arbitration panel ruled in favor of sprinter LaTasha Jenkins, who had been sanctioned for using the anabolic steroid nandralone.

USADA's overall record fell to 36-1 since it started prosecuting American athletes for doping violations. Jenkins, a 2001 world track medalist, now has the option of resuming her effort to try for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.

The arbitration panel ruled the results of Jenkins' positive doping test from a track meet in Belgium last year were compromised because both European labs testing her sample violated international standards that require the tests be run by two different technicians.

"It's a good day for athletes," said Michael Straubel, a Valparaiso Law School professor who worked for free for Jenkins, along with four Valpo law students. "The panel acknowledged that an allegation of doping is a serious matter which profoundly affects an athlete, and laboratories therefore must ensure the highest scientific reliability of the testing process."